Mail box



A. C. WOOD March 11, 1930.

MAIL BOX 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 14, 1926 A. C. WOOD March 11, 1930.

MAIL BOX Filed June '14, 1926 s Sheets-Shed 2 IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIII'IIIIII I r a I I I I I I I I I I a u a'lll lil r 'iglz IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJ'IIIIII I'll/"Im'nlllflm A. C. WOOD March 11, 1930.

MAIL BOX Filed June 14. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 :IIIIIAIIIA anvil/111111;

I I I Patented Mar. 11, 1930 C. WO O D, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAIL BOX Application filed 'June 14, 1926.

My invention, relates itoithat, general class of; devices: known; as mail-boxes; and." hasamong itssother objects the production ofimproved devices; of the; kind described,

Which'will facilitate the; distribution ofzinail, or: the. equivalent, and prevent: theftithereof as-well" as affording protection, against dust, dirtzxand the weather;

The particular: objectof)- the; invention is to provide mailaboxesof: simplified construction; permitting themail-man to j quickly dis:- tribute pieces ;of:mai-l.-,in,. alpluralityyof independent compartments ofr which, each compartment is; readily; accessible to the owner, or,

llgldelj rtllfll'eof, the. owner or: holder being-unable togainaccessto the other compartments unless properly authorized:

Another-particular obj ect of 'the invention is to provideimprovedrmail-boxestofithekind 59 described having; a; door; forlrthejuse of the maihman, which door is common touall ,ofthe compartments and is independent ofthe in dividual 1dO01's for-the several compartments so thattheimail-man is not required-to swing,

or pusha' relatively; heavy closure member,

into; place: after distributing; the mail.

Many; other: objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious; to those, skillediin the art from the disclosure herein given; I

To this endfmy, invention consistsv in the novel; construction, arrangement an'dacornbinationof parts herein shown anddescribed, and; more particularly pointed out in, the

Inthe drawings, wherein; like. reference characters; indicate, like or corresponding parts;

Figure ,1; is, a front elevation of a mail-box 49 embodying the; invention;

Figure 2 zisiai section; taken on line -.2- 2 0f: Figure-11;

Figure 3.is-a-: section taken on.line-3-3 of Figure 1; v

Figurehiifs'a: section taken on-line of Figure 1; a

Figure, 5zis a; front View of a ma l-box embodying; another; form oft-he invention;

Figure; 6 is. a front ,view :of: a mail-box em:-

bodying another formof" the invent on;

Serial No. 115,832;

Figure 7 is-a vertical section taken through aamail-box which embodies another form of the invention;

Figure 8 is a front elevation of a mail-box which embodies still another form of, the invention; and:

Figure-9'is a sectiontaken on line 99 of Figure 8;

Referring for the present .to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, wherein I have shown a. preferred formv of the invention embodied in a mailboxparticularly adapted for use in apartment buildings, hotels and thelike, the-reference character 10; designates a face plate which is adapted-to be positioned against a wall-or othersuitable support and isprovided with a plurality of 'recesses llthrough which access maybe had toa likenumber of compartments 12- bythe several owners or holders thereof, each compartment 12 being provided with a door. lkwhich is hinged to the face plate, as at15. Each door l i is preferably providedwith.- a lock 17 and an aperture or slot 19 through which telegrams, calling cards,vortheequivalent, may be passed into the corresponding; compartment. As best shown in ,Figuressland 2, each door also preferably provided with an. opening 20 in which'a card may bepositionedbearing the. nameof; the holder orownersof the. comp artment, a plate 22 being fixed to the inner surfaceofthe doortohold the card in place. i

The several compartments 12 are formed inta box 241=which projects intova suitable recess cut into the *wall or, other support, the box; preferably comprising a back wall 26 which is formed integral with side walls 27, thersidetwalls-27 are formedwith inwardly projecting flanges 29-at their front ends, the flanges :29 being; riveted to thefaceplate 10, as at. 30. The box- 24 also comprisessubstantially, identical top 1 and bottom 7 walls 32 and; 33,flres p ectively, and oneonmore hori- Zontally arranged partitions 34,- which may besecuredtp the faceplate 10 by any suitable means, such as, for-instance, rivets 35. In this: embodimentof; the invention, the top wall 32,, the. bottomwall 33 and. the partitions 341 are provided with lugs 37 adapted! to project through apertures 38- formed in the rear wall 26, the lugs 37 being bent over to rigidly secure the rear wall to the bottom and top walls and the partitions see Figure 2). Intermediate the side walls 27 is a vertically disposed partition 40 which is preferably riveted to the rear wall 26, as indicated at 41. The partition 40 and the partitions 34 are provided with interengageable slots 4-8 and 44:, respectively, as illustrated in Figure 3. It will be noted that the compartments 12 extend from the side walls 27 to the partition 40 and that each compartment is accessible through an aperture 45 provided in the face plate, the aperture 45 being common to all of the compartments and being provided with a door 46 hinged to the face plate, as at 48. The door 46 is designed for the use of the mail-man and is preferably provided with a lock 49. The construction is such that the front edges of the partitions 34. and 40 lie in close proximity to the door 46 when it is in its closed position. This permits any one of the owners or holders of the compartments to remove the mail or other matter from his particular compartment but prevents him from reaching into one of the other compartments. Another advantage of my improved construction is that the door 46 is independent of the doors LL and can be closed with little eflort on the part of the mail-man. In other words, the mail-man can unlock the door d6 and let it drop into its open position. Then, after he has distributed the mail, he can swing the door 46 into its closed position quickly and easily. By arranging the door d6 upon the same side of the mail-box as the doors 14, the mail-box may be relatively shallow and need not project from the wall.

If desired, push buttons 50 may be mounted in the face plate 10, a push button 50 being provided for each holder or owner for one of the compartments 12. In some instances, I may prefer to provide one or more speaking-tubes 52; however, this is a matter of preference.

In Figure 5 I have shown another embodi ment of the invention, which consists of a mail-box having two compartments 12 for mail, or the equivalent, the box comprising a face plate 10, side walls 27, top and bottom walls 3; and 33*, respectively, and a vertically disposed partition L0. Each compartment 12 is provided with an individual door I 14 hinged to the face plate 10, as indicated at 15. A door l6 common to both of the compartments 12 is also hinged to the face plate 10, hinges 48 being provided for this purpose. The construction of the mail-box shown in Figure 5 is substantially identical with the mail-box shown in Figures 1 to 4: inclusive, with the exception that only two compartments are provided therein.

Figure 6 shows another form of the invention embodied in a mail-box comprising three compartments 55, 56 and 57, the compartments 55 and 56 being horizontally arranged and the compartment 57 being vertically ar ranged. The compartment 57 is formed by a top wall 58 and a bottom wall 59.- The top wall 58 also forms the top wall of the compartments 55 and 56. The side walls of the compartment 57 are indicated at 60 and form the inner end walls of the compartments 55 and 56, the outer end walls of the compartments 55 and 56 being indicated at 62. The compartment 57 is disposed intermediate the compartments 55 and 56 in such manner that all of the compartments are accessible through an aperture provided in a face plate 66 forming part of the box. The aperture 65 permits distribution of mail, or

the like, in the several compartments and ispreferably provided with a door 68 which is hinged to the face plate 66, as at 69, and is preferably provided with locks 70. Each of the compartments 55, 56 and 57 is provided with a door 72 secured to the face plate 66 by hinges 7 3 and provided with a lock 7 4.

Figure 7 is a section corresponding to Figure 2, but taken through a 1nail-box embodying another form of the invention. It will be noted that the compartments 12 of the mailbox shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, are so proportioned that letters of average size must be placed 011 edge in the compartments. The mail-box shown in Figure 7 comprises compartments 75 which are so proportioned that letters of average size may lie fiat on the bottom walls of the compartments.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate another form of the invention embodied in a mail-box comprising a plurality of units 77, each of which constitutes a mail-box adapted to be used independently of the remaining units. As shown, each unit 77 comprises a face plate 78 having a plurality of apertures 79 therein through which mail may be inserted in compartments 80, the apertures 79 being provided with doors 82 which are mounted upon the face plates 78 by hinges 83. Each door 82 is preferably provided with a slot 85 through which calling cards, telegrams, and the like, may be inserted in the corresponding compartment. Each door 82 is also preferably provided with an opening 86 in which a card bearing the name of the holder or owner of the box may be positioned. A central aperture 89 is formed in each face plate 77 through which access may be had to the several compartments associated with the face plate. The several apertures 89 are provided with a door 90 which is common to all of them, the door 90 being preferably hinged to the lowermost face plate 7 8, as indicated at 92. Obviously, mail or other matter may be dis tributed in the compartments 80 when the door 90 is first brought to its open position. The doors 82 and the door 90 are preferably provided with locks 94 and 95, respectively,

so that no unauthorized persons may have access to the compartments. Each unit 7 7 preferably comprises a top wall 97, a bottom wall 98, a rear wall 99 and an end wall 100. Disposed substantially centrally between the end walls 100 of each unit 77 is a vertically disposed partition 102, which divides the box into the compartments 80.

Obviously, the construction shown in Figures 8 and 9 will permit a mail-box to be built up of any desired number of units, each unit itself comprising a mail-box resembling that shown in Figure 5. The several face plates 78 may be secured to each other by any suitable means, as, for instance, bars 104 secured to the plates by rivets 105, or the equivalents for the purpose. A dealer may carry the units in stock together with doors 90 of various sizes and assemble the units and the doors in accordance with the needs of his customers.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and de scribed or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the class described, top, bottom, and side walls and a face plate oined thereto, a rear wall, a plurality of partitions disposed within said walls to form compartments, one of said partitions being common to a plurality of compartments on each side thereof, a door disposed opposite said partition so as to give access to said compartments through adjacent corners thereof, and an individual door in said face plate for each compartment.

2. In a device of the class described, top, bottom, and side walls and a face plate joined thereto, a rear wall, a plurality of partitions 5 disposed within said walls to form compartments, one of said partitions being common to a plurality of compartments on each side thereof, a door disposed in said face plate opposite said partition so as to give access to said compartments through adjacent corners thereof, and an individual door in said face plate for each compartment.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

ANDREW C. WVOOD. 

